The Baltimore Ravens will have Maxx Williams starting with Crockett Gillmore out in Week 4 on Thursday night and that makes Williams a strong fantasy football option for owners. Steve Smith and Justin Forsett are the best option for Joe Flacco with Williams, while rookie Breshad Perriman is out with an injury.
The Ravens are coming into this game desperate and the one positive for the team at 0-3 is that they do not have to face Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens announced their injury report ahead of the Week 4 game and the team will be without Gillmore, Perriman along with Chris Canty. Perriman has been out for three games and Gillmore now will miss time with a calf injury, leaving Maxx Williams to get the start for the Ravens.
Gillmore has been a solid fantasy option this season, putting up 10 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns in three games. Gillmore was unable to practice this week and that put him out for the game against the Steelers and the Ravens hope he can return with a long week coming up into Week 5. Williams is a rookie and he has all the tools to be a solid tight end in the NFL and now he is getting a chance to step up with the injury to Gillmore.
Gillmore had a breakout game in Week 2 against the Raiders with a season-high five catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns and he has proven to be a reliable target for Flacco. ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley writes that Williams will have an "expanded role" against the Steelers, as Baltimore wants to push the tight end position on offense this week. The team had 10 targets to the tight end position last week and Flacco could look that way quite a big again on Thursday night.
Williams has just five catches in three games for 67 yards this season, but he has not had much of a chance to get things going. Last week Williams had three catches for 44 yards and he can build on that with a strong game Thursday night. Justin Forsett has been off to a slow start this season, but he could have a solid game on Thursday against the Steelers after putting up just 13 yards in the loss last week. Forsett had 124 yards and zero TDs this season and he will be looking to finally get into the endzone.
Steve Smith is the best starter option for Joe Flacco, as he has put up some strong numbers through three weeks of the season. Smith has two 100-plus yard games this season already and he has 25 catches for 349 yards and two touchdowns and last week he had the best game he has had in quite some time. Smith had 13 catches for 186 yards and two TDs in the Bengals loss and even more prosing for fantasy owners were his 17 targets.
Check here for more on the Ravens, Williams, Gillmore and Perriman.
